Upper arm pad



May 7, 1963 J. K. GROOT UPPER ARM PAD Filed July 12. 1960 INVENTOR.Jbhrz 2'. 6mm

BY M,.9W,&W Y aflorn 'yfi United States Patent Olhce 3,08 8 ,1 lPatented May 7, 1963 Filed July 12, 1960, Ser. No. 42,434 3 Claims. (Cl.22)

This invention relates to upper arm pads, and more particularly toprotective pads adapted to use by athletes in playing games requiringbodily contact between players, such as football.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide pads adapted to use asaccessories to the shoulder pads generally worn by football players,which accessory pads are suited to the protection of the externalsurfaces of the players upper arms between the shoulders and the elbows.

Another object of the invention is to provide a protective pad havingthereon means for effecting a flexible supporting connection to aportion of the shoulder pad and means for holding the pad against awearers upper arm for movements therewith.

As another object, this invention has within its purview the provisionof an upper arm pad formed of a relatively soft, resilient and flexiblematerial of substantial thickness having a cupped upper portion forfitting over a wearers shoulder and a lower portion for fitting aroundthe exposed surfaces of the wearers upper arm, with a plurality offlexible elements for holding the pad in place.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description and the accompanying drawings in which similarcharacters of reference indicate similar par-ts throughout the severalviews:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views showing the interior and exteriorportions respectively of an upper arm pad embodying a preferred form ofmy invention;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the upper arm pad takensubstantially as indicated by a line 3-3 and accompanying arrows in FIG.2; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing one of the upper arm pads attachedto a conventional type of shoulder pad structure used by footballplayers.

In the exemplary embodiment of this invention which is shown in theaccompanying drawings for illustrative purposes, an upper arm pad has acupped upper portion 12 adapted to fit over the upper and exteriorsurfaces of a wearers shoulder and an integral lower portion 13 whichextends downwardly from the cupped upper portion to cover the normallyexposed exterior surface of a Wearers arm down to a region adjacent theWearers elbow. In playing games, such as football, which require bodilycontacts between the players, the exterior and normally exposed outersurfaces of the wearers arms are subject to bruises and injury duringplay. While the upper arm pads of this invention are adapted to coverand to protect the outer surfaces of the wearers arms, they must also beprovided with supports which allow freedom of arm movements and whichhold the pads in place on the wearers arms.

In the disclosed upper arm pad structure, each pad 10 includes a padelement 14 which is formed or shaped to provide the cupped upper endportion 12 and which is made of a flexible material that is relativelysoft and resilient and which has substantial thickness for shock orblow-absorbing purposes. This pad element 14, may, for example, be madeof a material such as expanded rubber or vinyl and the like. The padelement may be coated with a moisture-proofing material, such as lacquerfor protection against moisture and perspiration, or may be uncoated. Inthe illustrated structure, the pad element 14 is covered with an outercovering 15, such as fabric. When thus covered by fabric, the coveringmaterial is cut and sewn along seams, such as 16, 17 and 18, so that thecover conforms generally to the exterior and interior surfaces of thepad. Also, in the structure illustrated, the fabric covering is sewnalong a bottom seam 19 which holds the outer covering 15 in place overthe pad element 14.

In playing football, the players wear shoulder pads of the type depictedin FIG. 4, which shoulder pads include body-protecting portions 20 and22 held in place on opposite sides of the wearers body by anchor strapssuch as 23, and to the opposite sides of which bodyprotecting portionsshoulder caps such as 24 are movably connected by flexible webs such as25. Epaulets 26 and e 27 are also movably connected to thebody-protecting portions by flexible hinge elements 28 and overlieadjacent marginal portions of the body-protecting portions and theshoulder caps.

In order to provide supports for the upper ends of the upper arm pads.of this invention which will not only anchor the upper arm pads firmlyin place relative to the wearers upper arms, but will afford thenecessary flexibility to allow full freedom of movement of the wearersarms, each upper arm pad of the type herein illustrated has flexiblewebs 29 and 30 secured thereto in spaced relationship at the upper endof the pad. In the form illustrated, the webs 29 and 30 are secured tothe outer covering 15 and extend upwardly therefrom. Fastening elements,such as snap fastener parts 32 and 33 are secured to outer end portionsof the webs 29' and 30, so that the ends thereof may be readily, firmlyand releasably secured together.

As shown in FIG. 4, the webs 29 and 30 embrace the flexible webs 25which movably anchor the shoulder caps 24 to the body-protectingportions of the shoulder pad structure. Although it is understood thatflexible connections could be provided to various portions of theshoulder pad structure for supporting the upper ends of the upper armpads, it may also be readily understood that the disclosed webs whichconnect the upper arm pad to the hinge elements for the shoulder capsprovide for the desired flexibility and freedom of movement, inasmuch asthe shoulder caps and their hinges move with the wearers shoulders andarms.

While the upper arm pad could terminate below the upper surface of theshoulder, because of the protection normally provided by the shouldercaps on the shoulder pad structure, the cupped upper end portion on theupper arm pad is considered to aiford better protection for the wearerand more firm support and anchoring for the upper arm pad.

Near the lower end of each upper arm pad, a flexible web 34, which isdesirably made of a stretchable elastic material, has its opposite endsSecured to opposed side edges of the upper armpad, so that when the padis in place on a wears upper arm, the elastic web embraces the innersurface of the wearers arm in opposition to the pad and holds the lowerportion of the pad firmly in place against the outer surface of the arm,so that the pad will move with the arm and cannot be dislodged.

'From the foregoing description and by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, it may be readily understood that I have provided an upper armpad adapted to use by players of contact sports, which pad protects thewearers upper arm from the shoulder to the region of the elbow and whichis adapted to use with other equipment, such as shoulder pads andaffords the required freedom of arm movements, as well as being firmlyheld in place for movements with the wearers upper It is understood thatthe foregoing description is merely illustrative of a preferredembodiment of the invention and that the scope of the invention is notto be limited thereto but is to be determined by the appended claims.

-I claim:

1. In combination with a football shoulder pad having shoulder capsconnected by flexible hinge means to body protective members, aseparable auxiliary upper arm pad comprising a formed pad element madeof relatively resilient and flexible material and having a cupped upperportion for fitting over the lateral outer shoulder surfaces of a wearerunder said shoulder cap and a lower portion extending downwardly fromsaid upper portion to cover only normally unprotected outer surfaceregions of a wearers upper arm below said shoulder caps, flexibleweb-type elements having end portions secured to said upper portion ofthe pad element and extending therefrom, said flexible Web elementsembracing the upper-surface of said flexible hinge means of saidshoulder pad and releasably connected together for making a tflexibleconnection of the pad element to said football shoulder pad, and anotherflexible web-type element secured to the lower portion of said padelement for holding the pad element in place against the normallyexposed outer surface regions of the Wearers arm.

2. The combination as defined in claim 1, and wherein said pad elementcomprises a formed inner pad element having a flexible fabric coverthereon which conforms generally thereto, and said flexible web-typeelements are secured to said fabric cover.

3. The combination as defined'in claim 1, and wherein the last mentionedweb-type element comprises an elastic web having its opposite endssecured to opposite sides of the pad element at positions adjacent thelower end of the pad element and well below the shoulder cap forengagement with the wearers arm just above the elbow.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS653,544 Burns et a1. July 10, 1900 1,117,077 Mooney Nov. 10, 19141,862,441 Till June 7, 1932 1,970,130 Dickenson Aug. 14, 1934 2,013,794Taylor Sept. 10, 1935 2,045,157 Mathias June 23, 1936 2,693,598 YoungNov. 9, 1954

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A FOOTBALL SHOULDER PAD HAVING SHOULDER CAPSCONNECTED BY FLEXIBLE HINGE MEANS TO BODY PROTECTIVE MEMBERS, ASEPARABLE AUXILIARY UPPER ARM PAD COMPRISING A FORMED PAD ELEMENT MADEOF RELATIVELY RESILIENT AND FLEXIBLE MATERIAL AND HAVING A CUPPED UPPERPORTION FOR FITTING OVER THE LATERAL OUTER SHOULDER SURFACES OF A WEARERUNDER SAID SHOULDER CAP AND A LOWER PORTION EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROMSAID UPPER PORTION TO COVER ONLY NORMALLY UNPROTECTED OUTER SURFACEREGIONS OF A WEARER''S UPPER ARM BELOW SAID SHOULDER CAPS, FLEXIBLEWEB-TYPE ELEMENTS HAVING END PORTIONS SECURED TO SAID UPPER PORTION OFTHE PAD ELEMENT AND EXTENDING THEREFROM, SAID FLEXIBLE WEB ELEMENTSEMBRACING THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID FLEXIBLE HINGE MEANS OF SAIDSHOULDER PAD AND RELEASABLY CONNECTED TOGETHER FOR MAKING A FLEXIBLECONNECTION OF THE PAD ELEMENT TO SAID FOOTBALL SHOULDER PAD AND ANOTHERFLEXIBLE WEB-TYPE ELEMENT SECURED TO THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID PADELEMENT FOR HOLDING THE PAD ELEMENT IN PLACE AGAINST THE NORMALLYEXPOSED OUTER SURFACE REGIONS OF THWEARER''S ARM.